Okay
by Mai Sauders
Summary: Ziva returns from Somalia. Anything, but fine. But will she ever admit that?


The two months in Somalia had ruined her; she was no longer the same girl. She felt different. Like her body was no longer her own. She was living in a daze as she went through the motions of work. Her teammates noticed, but no one dared to comment. But then her emotional barrier fell. Tumbling to pieces, leaving her open, vulnerable, bare. Tony came into work, early, for once in his life. Pleased with himself he strode happily into the bullpen. Ready to amaze everyone. But Ziva was the only one there, and she wasn't even there. She sat at her desk, sobbing, begging, "please no more, please…." Tony didn't know what to do for the first time in his life he felt utterly helpless. Finally he knelt down beside her. From far away could hear Tony's voice "ziva…..ziva, it's all right" But it wasn't alright, didn't he know that. Finally, she lifted her eyes up to look at him. "No, its not alright."

Two months later….

Jenny was just finishing up some paperwork when Gibbs barged into her office. She turned to face him. "Gibbs, knock first before…" she trailed off, seeing his face. She knew something was wrong, very wrong. Gibbs spoke "Ziva has been kidnapped". Jenny gasped, Ziva kidnapped. And she knew all too well, that this might tip Ziva over the edge. Being kidnapped for the second time in such a short period of time.

Below in the bullpen the team were frantically working to find Ziva before it was too late. They worked day and night. Only stopping to take short breaks when the exhaustion threatened to overwhelm them. But their hard work got them results as they got a location, on their suspect, Andrew Sullivan. They rushed to the car, calling for back up on the way as well as an ambulance, because if Ziva was still alive, and they weren't too late she was going to need one.

Arriving at the house they kicked the door down. Inside were four of Andrew's mate, all crowded around the kitchen table. Although taken by surprise, they reacted quickly. Quickly they pulled knives from various locations on their person. But before either of them could move. They heard gunshots, the back up had arrived, leaving the four kidnappers, on the floor goaning in pain, they raced down the stairs to the basement, to save Ziva.

The team couldn't believe it, when they saw Ziva. She had bruises all over her, one eye, was a dark shade of blue and swollen shut. Her arms had circular black and red spots on them, from where she had been burned with a cigeratte, there must have been at least twenty. Her back was bleeding, and had gashes all along it from where she had been whipped, one shoulder was slumped forward, dislocated. Her stomach, was black and charred, from where they had burned her. Her hair was matted with blood from an ugly gash on her head. But that was not what amazed them was that even after being tortured again for the second time in three months, she looked in no way, defeated in fact, she was smiling at them. "I was wondering when you would come", she remarked. Just then the ambulance officers came down the stairs, with a stretcher, they untied and was about to lift her onto the stretcher, when snapped at them. That she was perfectly fine and able to walk on her own.

Tony paced, back and forth impatiently. They were still awaiting news of Ziva's condition. McGee was sitting down, reading a magazine. He appeared calm, but the worried look on his face told him otherwise. Gibbs was at the nurses' station, asking if they had any news on Ziva David yet. Just then a doctor came into the waiting room. "Ziva David," he asked. "Dah veed," they all corrected him, out of habit. "Yes, well Ziva ..Dah veed is stable at the moment. But it will take a while for body to recover properly. And as you are aware she was tortured, so it will take even longer, before she recovers emotionally. Even though she seems fine at the moment, I am sure there are scars there, she is hiding. But you are welcome to go see her." Consulting his notes, he told them she was in room 24.

Entering her room, they saw she was awake and sitting up. She smiled at them. "How are you feeling?" Tony asked concerned. Because even though she was smiling she looked terrible. "Fine," Ziva replied. And with that one word, Tony heart sank, that was what she said when she came home from Somalia, anything but fine.

"Tony, what is wrong?" Ziva asked. She looked at me worried. Hearing this the rest of the team turned to look at me too. I licked my lips, and hoped I wasn't going to make it worse or anything but I couldn't just let her go on, telling us she was fine, when she was anything but. "Ziva, you are not fine, you have just been tortured again, no-one would be just fine after that." The rest of the team, seemed to hold their breath after Tony's outburst. I sighed, "I know Tony, but I am okay. Maybe not fine. But one day I will be."


End file.
